Optical recording medium, recording/reproducing apparatus and method, and recording medium storing program for executing the method

ABSTRACT

An information recording medium includes an access control area in which access control data (ACD) is recorded, the ACD having common information set to allow a recording/reproducing apparatus that cannot recognize a predetermined function of the information recording medium to control access to the information recording medium; and an ACD state information area in which state information regarding one of defectiveness and recordability of an ACD block, at which the ACD is recorded in the access control area, is recorded.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/062,669, filed Feb. 23, 2005, currently pending, which claims thebenefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2004-0036377, filed on May21, 2004 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, and Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2004-0042656, filed on Jun. 10, 2004 in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporatedherein in their entireties by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a disc, and more particularly, to aninformation recording medium, a write-once information recording medium,a rewritable information recording medium, and a recording/reproducingapparatus and method, by which data for access control is appropriatelymanaged to secure recording/reproduction compatibility, and acomputer-readable recording medium storing a program for executing themethod.

2. Description of the Related Art

The standards for optical systems including optical disc drive systemsand optical discs have to be frequently updated in light of thedevelopments of optical disc technology and semiconductor technology.FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining problems related to standardupdating. Generally a new standard is obtained by adding new functionsto an old standard. An old standard disc 12 is designed to operate in anold standard drive system 11, whereas a new standard disc 14 is designedto operate in a new standard drive system 13.

The old standard and the new standard may or may not providerecording/reproducing compatibility. If the recording/reproducingcompatibility is assured, the old standard disc 12 and the new standarddisc 14 can be recorded/reproduced in both of the old and new standarddrive systems 11 and 13. For example, when the new standard disc 14 isloaded into the old standard drive system 11, the old standard drivesystem 11 should properly operate in response to newly added functionsin the new standard. Therefore, the standards should be designed byconsidering the necessity of updating them continuously.

Accordingly, it is necessary to define rules that allow a drive systemto perform functions recognized by a current standard and rules thatallow the same drive system to perform new functions not recognized bythe current standard. In a case where a future standard is made byadding a new function to a current standard, if a future standard drivesystem stores on a disc information regarding operations that a currentstandard drive system needs to perform for the new function, the currentstandard drive system can read the information from the disc adapted tothe new function and perform the operations for the new function.

In this respect, a method of enabling a current standard drive system toaccess control information related to a new standard disc loaded intothe current standard drive system is desired. Furthermore, a method ofefficiently managing data for the access control is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the present invention provide an information recordingmedium, a write-once information recording medium, a rewritableinformation recording medium, and a recording/reproducing apparatus andmethod, by which access control data is efficiently managed to securecompatibility between discs and drive systems, and a computer-readablerecording medium storing a program for executing the method.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided aninformation recording medium including an access control area in whichaccess control data (ACD) is recorded, the ACD having common informationset to allow a recording/reproducing apparatus that cannot recognize apredetermined function of the information recording medium to controlaccess to the information recording medium; and an ACD state informationarea including state information regarding one of defectiveness andrecordability of an ACD block at which the ACD is recorded in the accesscontrol area.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the state informationincludes a first defective state selectable between and indicating atleast on of a state that the ACD block is detected as defective whilethe ACD is recorded in the ACD block, a state that the ACD block hasinvalid ACD, a state that the ACD block has old and invalid ACD andupdated ACD has been recorded in another ACD block, a state that the ACDblock is an unrecorded block filled with predetermined data according tofinalization of the information recording medium, or combinationsthereof.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the state informationincludes a second defective state indicating that the ACD block hasvalid ACD but is detected as defective while the valid ACD is reproducedfrom the ACD block.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the state informationincludes a third defective state selectable between and indicating oneof a state that the ACD block is detected as defective while the ACD isrecorded in the ACD block and a state that the ACD block has invalidACD.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the ACD stateinformation area is included in a disc definition structure that isrecorded for disc management in a defect management area included in alead-in area on the information recording medium.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the common informationincludes an ID identifying a function; formatability informationindicating whether the information recording medium is formatable;recordability/reproducibility information indicating whether a sparearea on the information recording medium is recordable/reproducible; andrecordability/reproducibility information indicating whether a user dataarea on the information recording medium is recordable/reproducible, andrecordability/reproducibility information indicating whether the defectmanagement area is recordable/reproducible may be excluded from thecommon information.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda write-once information recording medium including an access controlarea in which ACD is recorded, the ACD having common information set toallow a recording/reproducing apparatus that cannot recognize apredetermined function of the write-once information recording medium tocontrol access to the write-once information recording medium; and anACD state information area in which state information regarding one ofdefectiveness and recordability of an ACD block, at which the ACD isrecorded in the access control area, is recorded.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the state informationincludes a first state that the ACD block is available for recording ofACD, a second state that the ACD block is a defective block, a thirdstate that the ACD block has valid ACD but is detected as defectivewhile the valid ACD is reproduced from the ACD block, and a fourth statethat the ACD block has valid ACD.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the access control areais sequentially used from an inner to outer radius of the write-onceinformation recording medium or from the outer to inner radius of thewrite-once information recording medium.

According to an aspect of the present invention, when the ACD block inthe access control area is detected as defective while the ACD isrecorded in the ACD block or as a result of verification of therecording, the ACD may be recorded in a subsequent ACD block in theaccess control area.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a rewritable recording medium including an access control areain which ACD is recorded, the ACD having common information set to allowa recording/reproducing apparatus that cannot recognize a predeterminedfunction of the rewritable recording medium to control access to therewritable recording medium; and an ACD state information area in whichstate information regarding one of defectiveness and recordability of anACD block, at which the ACD is recorded in the access control area, isrecorded.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the state informationincludes a first state indicating that the ACD block is available forrecording of ACD, a second state indicating that the ACD block isdetected as defective while the ACD is recorded in the ACD block or thatthe ACD block has invalid ACD, a third state indicating that the ACDblock has valid ACD but is detected as defective while the valid ACD isreproduced from the ACD block, and a fourth state that the ACD block hasvalid ACD.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a recording/reproducing apparatus including a writing/readingunit writing data to or reading data from an information recordingmedium having an access control area in which ACD is recorded, the ACDhaving common information set to allow the recording/reproducingapparatus that cannot recognize a predetermined function of theinformation recording medium to control access to the informationrecording medium; and a control unit controlling the writing/readingunit to record state information regarding one of defectiveness andrecordability of an ACD block, at which the ACD is recorded in theaccess control area, in an ACD state information area provided on theinformation recording medium.

According to an aspect of the present invention, when the ACD recordedin the ACD block is updated, the control unit along with referencescited therein controls the writing/reading unit to change the stateinformation regarding the ACD block into the defective state indicatingthat the ACD block has invalid ACD and to record updated ACD in asubsequent available ACD block in the access control area.

According to an aspect of the present invention, when the ACD recordedin the ACD block is not valid any more, the control unit controls thewriting/reading unit to overwrite the ACD block with a predeterminedvalue and to change the state information regarding the ACD block into astate indicating that the ACD block is available to allow other ACD tobe recorded in the ACD block.

According to an aspect of the present invention, when the ACD block inthe access control area is detected as defective while the ACD iswritten to the ACD block or as a result of verification of the writing,the control unit controls the writing/reading unit to record the ACD ina subsequent ACD block in the access control area.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a recording/reproducing method including recording stateinformation regarding one of defectiveness and recordability of an ACDblock, at which ACD is recorded in an access control area provided on aninformation recording medium, in an ACD state information area providedon the information recording medium, the ACD having common informationset to allow the recording/reproducing apparatus that cannot recognize apredetermined function of the information recording medium to controlaccess to the information recording medium.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda computer-readable recording medium storing a program used by acomputer for executing a recording/reproducing method, the methodincluding recording state information regarding one of defectiveness andrecordability of an ACD block, at which ACD is recorded in an accesscontrol area provided on an information recording medium, in an ACDstate information area provided on the information recording medium, theACD having common information set to allow the recording/reproducingapparatus that cannot recognize a predetermined function of theinformation recording medium to control access to the informationrecording medium.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a write-once information recording medium including an accesscontrol area in which ACD is recorded, the ACD having common informationset to allow a recording/reproducing apparatus that cannot recognize apredetermined function of the write-once information recording medium tocontrol access to the write-once information recording medium; and atemporary defect management area (TDMA) including a temporary discdefinition structure (TDDS) in which state information regarding one ofdefectiveness and recordability of an ACD block, at which the ACD isrecorded in the access control area, is recorded, wherein the ACDincludes at least one among an ACD_ID indicating an ID of thepredetermined function, formatability information indicating whether thewrite-once information recording medium is formatable, TDMArecordability information indicating whether the TDMA except for theTDDS is recordable, data area recordability/reproducibility informationindicating whether the data area is recordable/reproducible, orcombination thereof.

According to an aspect of the present invention, when the TDMA isassigned in the data area, the data area recordability/reproducibilityinformation may not include recordability/reproducibility informationindicating whether the TDMA assigned in the data area isrecordable/reproducible.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a rewritable information recording medium including an accesscontrol area in which ACD is recorded, the ACD having common informationset to allow a recording/reproducing apparatus that cannot recognize apredetermined function of the information recording medium to controlaccess to the information recording medium; and a defect management area(DMA) including a disc definition structure (DDS) in which stateinformation regarding one of defectiveness and recordability of an ACDblock, at which the ACD is recorded in the access control area, isrecorded, wherein the ACD includes at least one among an ACD_IDindicating an ID of the predetermined function, formatabilityinformation indicating whether the write-once information recordingmedium is formatable, DMA recordability information indicating whetherthe DMA except for the DDS is recordable, and data arearecordability/reproducibility information indicating whether the dataarea is recordable/reproducible.

Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forthin part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obviousfrom the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features and/or advantages of the present inventionwill become more apparent and more readily appreciated by describing indetail embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawingsin which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining compatibility between discs and drivesystems of different standards in the conventional technology;

FIG. 2 illustrates a structure of a write-once information recordingmedium according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3A illustrates an example of a structure of an access control area(ACA) shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 3B illustrates an example of the structure of the ACA shown in FIG.2;

FIG. 4 illustrates a detailed structure of a temporary defect managementarea (TDMA) provided with an area in which access control data (ACD)state information is recorded according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 illustrates ACD state information according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 6A illustrates a first example of states of ACD blocks in the ACAshown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6B illustrates an example of ACD state information included in atemporary disc definition structure (TDDS) in accordance with the statesof the ACD blocks shown in FIG. 6A;

FIG. 7A illustrates a second example of states of the ACD blocks in theACA shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 7B illustrates an example of ACD state information included in theTDDS in accordance with the states of the ACD blocks shown in FIG. 7A;

FIG. 8A illustrates a third example of states of the ACD blocks in theACA shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 8B illustrates an example of ACD state information included in theTDDS in accordance with the states of the ACD blocks shown in FIG. 8A;

FIG. 9 illustrates a structure of a rewritable recording mediumaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10A illustrates an example of an ACA shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 10B illustrates an example of the ACA shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 illustrates a detailed structure of a TDMA provided with an areain which ACD state information is recorded, according to anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12A illustrates an example of states of ACD blocks in the ACA shownin FIG. 9;

FIG. 12B illustrates an example of ACD state information included in theTDDS in accordance with the states of the ACD blocks shown in FIG. 12A;

FIG. 13A illustrates an example of states of the ACD blocks in the ACAshown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 13B illustrates an example of ACD state information included in theTDDS in accordance with the states of the ACD blocks shown in FIG. 13A;

FIG. 14A illustrates an example of states of the ACD blocks in the ACAshown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 14B illustrates an example of ACD state information included in theTDDS in accordance with the states of the ACD blocks shown in FIG. 14A;

FIG. 15 is a schematic block diagram of a recording/reproducingapparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of a method of recording ACD state informationaccording to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of a method of recording ACD state informationwhen an ACD block is updated according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the presentinvention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elementsthroughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain thepresent invention by referring to the figures.

FIG. 2 illustrates a structure of a write-once information recordingmedium, i.e., a write-once disc 200, according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. Referring to FIG. 2, the disc 200 sequentiallyincludes a lead-in area 210, a data area 220, and a lead-out area 230.

The lead-in area 210 includes a pre-recorded area 211 in whichpredetermined data is recorded when the disc 200 is manufactured, a testarea 212, an access control area (ACA) 213, a defect management area(DMA) #2 214, a DMA #1 215, and a temporary DMA (TDMA) 216. Thepre-recorded area 211 can be used only for reading. The test area 212,the ACA 213, the DMA #2 214, the DMA #1 215, and the TDMA 216 are areasto which data can be written and rewritten. It is understood thatadditional and/or fewer DMAS, TDMAs, test areas, pre-recorded area,and/or ACAs can be used, and that the pre-recorded area could also beused for recording in alternative embodiments of the invention.

The pre-recorded area 211 stores information regarding the disc 200 thatis recorded when the disc 200 is manufactured. For example, thepre-recorded area 211 stores a disc ID such as a disc manufacturingnumber that identifies the disc 200. However, it is understood thatadditional read only information can be recorded in the pre-recordedarea 211.

The test area 212 is provided to test the recording power or the likefor optimal recording on the disc 200.

The ACA 213 is provided to record information prescribing operations ofa drive system for a new function to be added afterwards. Commoninformation enabling a drive system that cannot recognize a certainfunction to access the disc 200 is recorded in the ACA 213, an exampleof which will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3.

The DMA #1 215 and the DMA #2 214 are provided to record informationregarding a defect occurring in a user data area (UDA) 222. When no datacan be written to the disc 200 since the disc 200 is finalized, finaltemporary defect management information recorded in the TDMA 216 isrecorded in a DMA as final defect management information.

The TDMA 216 is an area in which temporary management information formanaging a defect occurring during use of the disc 200 and for managingdata recording on the disc 200 is recorded and updated. The TDMA 216includes a temporary disc definition structure (TDDS) 410, a temporarydefect list (TDFL) 420, and recording management data (RMD) 430. TheTDDS 410 includes an area in which state information regarding an accesscontrol data (ACD) block included in the ACA 213 is recorded. An exampleof the area will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4.However, it is understood that the state information can be recorded inother areas of the disc 200.

The data area 220 includes a spare area #0 221, the UDA 222, and a sparearea #1 223. The UDA 222 is provided to record user data. The spare area#0 221 and the spare area #1 223 provide spare blocks replacingdefective blocks occurring in the UDA 222. Such spare area is allocatedto the data area 222 during initialization or reinitialization of thedisc 200.

The lead-out area 230 includes a DMA #3 231 and a DMA #4 232. Aplurality of DMAs is provided to increase the reliability of the disc200 by repeatedly recording the same final defect management informationin a plurality of portions on the disc 200. However, it is understoodthat additional or fewer numbers of DMAs and other areas can be used,and/or recorded in other areas of the disc 200.

FIG. 3A illustrates a first example of a structure of the ACA 213 shownin FIG. 2. Referring to FIG. 3A, the ACA 213 includes an ACD #1 310, anACD #2 320, and an ACD #3 330.

The ACA 213 is an area in which common information used to access a discregardless of existing or new standards is recorded. In other words, theACA 213 stores a common information table applied in common to allfunctions used in existing standards and new standards. ACD constitutesa common information table regarding each function. For example, the ACD#1 310 constitutes a common information table regarding “function1”, theACD #2 320 constitutes a common information table regarding “function2”,and the ACD #3 330 constitutes a common information table regarding“function3”. The functions may be recognized by a drive system, and thefunction2 and the function3 may not be recognized by the drive system.ACD may also include specific information that only a drive systemrecognizing a function corresponding to the ACD can recognize, but neednot in all aspects of the invention.

The ACD #1 310 includes common information 311 and specific information312. The common information 311 includes an ACD_ID 313, (i.e., an IDidentifying ACD), formatability information 314 indicating whether thedisc can be formatted, spare area recordability/reproducibilityinformation 315 indicating whether a spare area is recordable or is onlyreproducible, and UDA recordability/reproducibility information 316indicating whether a UDA is recordable or is only reproducible.

A drive system can determine based on the ACD_ID 313 whether the ACD #1310 is about a recognizable function. In other words, if the drivesystem knows the ACD_ID 313, the ACD #1 310 is determined as being abouta recognizable function. Otherwise, the ACD #1 310 is determined asbeing about an unrecognizable function.

In addition, even though the drive system does not know the ACD_ID 313,the drive system can perform at least minimum proper operations withrespect to an unrecognizable function based on fields included in thecommon information table.

The ACD #2 320 also includes common information 321 and specificinformation 322. The common information 321 includes an ACD_ID 323 andcommon information table containing formatability information 324, sparearea recordability/reproducibility information 325, and UDArecordability/reproducibility information 326.

It is preferable, but not required, that the ACA 213 is sequentiallyused from an inner to outer radius of a disc 200 or from an outer toinner radius of the disc 200. In addition, when a defect is detectedwhile data is written to an ACD block in the ACA 213 or as a result ofverification after writing, data is recorded in a subsequent ACD block.

Meanwhile, common information of ACD may further includerecordability/reproducibility information regarding an area other than aspare area and a UDA 222 on the disc 200. However, it is preferable, butnot required, that the common information does not includerecordability/reproducibility information regarding a TDMA 216. Stateinformation regarding an ACD block in which ACD is recorded within theACA 213 is recorded in the TDMA 216. Accordingly, if the ACD's commoninformation is set to prohibit writing to the TDMA, the stateinformation regarding an ACD block cannot be recorded or updated.

In other words, since state information regarding an ACD block in theACA 213 is recorded in a TDDS 410 included in the TDMA 216,recordability/reproducibility information regarding the TDMA 216 shouldnot be defined in the ACD. If the recordability/reproducibilityinformation regarding the TDMA 216 is defined in ACD and is set toprohibit writing to the TDMA 216, when a new ACD block is added or anexisting ACD block is changed in the ACA 213, changed ACD stateinformation cannot be recorded in the TDMA 216. In this case, a realstate of each of ACD blocks included in the ACA 213 cannot be known,which makes it difficult to obtain valid ACD.

Meanwhile, according to usage of a write-once information recordingmedium, the TDMA 216 may be entirely or partially included in a sparearea 221. In this case, spare area recordability/reproducibilityinformation should not include information regarding the TDMA 216because it is preferable that the ACD's common information does notinclude TDMA 216 recordability/reproducibility information.

FIG. 3B illustrates another example of the structure of the ACA 213shown in FIG. 2. The second example shown in FIG. 3B is similar to theexample shown in FIG. 3A, with the exception that the common information311 includes TDMA recordability information 317 and data arearecordability/reproducibility information 318 and the common information321 includes TDMA recordability information 327 and data arearecordability/reproducibility information 328.

In particular, contrary to the example shown in FIG. 3A, the TDMArecordability information 317, 327 shown in FIG. 3B is included in thecommon information 311, 312. However, the TDMA recordability information317, 327 does not include information regarding a TDDS included in aTDMA 216 to always enable ACD state information to be recorded in theTDDS even when the TDMA recordability information 317, 327 is set toprohibit writing to the TDMA 216.

Meanwhile, although not shown in FIG. 2, the TDMA 216 may be assigned ina data area, such as UDA 222. In this embodiment, the TDDS 410 in whichACD's state information is recorded may be included in the TDMA 216assigned in the data area. In this case, the TDDS included in the dataarea should be also recordable/reproducible even when writing to/readingfrom the data area is prohibited.

In other words, the TDMA recordability information 317, 327 isinformation regarding recordability of all portions of the TDMA 216except for the TDDS 410, and the data area recordability/reproducibilityinformation 318, 328 is information regardingrecordability/reproducibility of all portions of the data area exceptfor the TDDS 410 or TDMA 216. That is, the TDDS 410 should be alwaysrecordable on a write-once embodiment of the information recordingmedium.

FIG. 4 illustrates a detailed structure of the TDMA 216 provided with anarea in which ACD state information is recorded according to anembodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, the TDMA 216includes the TDDS 410, the TDFL 420, and the RMD 430.

The TDFL 420 is an area in which information regarding a defectoccurring in a UDA 222 (e.g., an address of a defective block and anaddress of a block replacing the defective block), are recorded fortemporary defect management. The RMD 430 is an area for recordingmanagement. The RMD 430 is managed according to a recording mode. When arecording medium is used in a sequential recording mode, the RMD 430 ismanaged according to sequential recording information. When therecording medium is used in a random recording mode, the RMD 430 ismanaged according to a space bit map (SBM). The TDDS 410 is an area inwhich disc management information is recorded for temporary discmanagement. In particular, ACD state information 411 is recorded in theTDDS 410 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The ACD state information 411 contains a state of every ACD block in theACA 213. Referring to FIG. 4, two bits are assigned for stateinformation regarding a single ACD block. Thus, to record stateinformation regarding 64 blocks defined in the ACA 213, 64*2=128 bitsare assigned to the ACD state information 411. Accordingly, 16 bytes B0,. . . , B14, B15 are assigned for state information regarding every ACDblock in the ACA 213. However, it is understood that this number ofblocks and/or bits can vary.

FIG. 5 illustrates examples of ACD block state information 411 includedin the ACD state information 411. Referring to FIG. 5, a state of eachACD block is expressed with 2 bits, i.e., “00”, “01”, “10”, or “11”indicating one among four states.

In the shown example, bits “00” indicate that an ACD block is availablefor recording ACD. Bits “01” indicate that the block is defective. Morespecifically, buts “01” indicate one among a state that the ACD block isdetected as defective while ACD is recorded in the ACD block in an ACA,a state that the ACD block has invalid ACD, a state that the ACD blockhas old and invalid ACD and updated ACD having the same ACD_ID as theold and invalid ACD has been recorded in another ACD block according toa request to updated ACD, and a state that the ACD block is anunrecorded block filled with particular data according to finalizationof a write-once disc. Bits “10” indicate that the ACD block has validACD but is detected as defective while ACD is reproduced from the ACA.Bits “11” indicate that the ACD block has valid ACD. However, it isunderstood that the bit combinations can be otherwise assigned.

When an ACD update is requested during use of a disc, bits recorded in aTDDS to indicate a state of an ACD block having old ACD are changed into“01” to indicate that the ACD block has invalid ACD, and updated ACDhaving the same ACD_ID as the old ACD is recorded in a subsequentavailable ACD block in the ACA 213.

An example of recording ACD block state information 411 will bedescribed below in detail with reference to FIGS. 6A through 8B. FIG. 6Aillustrates an example of states of ACD blocks in the ACA 213 shown inFIG. 2. Referring to FIG. 6A, the ACA 213 includes 64 blocks andincludes two ACD blocks #1 and #2 having valid ACD, and the other 62blocks that have no data recorded therein and are available forrecording.

FIG. 6B illustrates an example of the ACD state information 411 includedin the TDDS 410 in accordance with the states of the ACD blocks shown inFIG. 6A. Referring to FIG. 6B, the TDDS 410 includes an area with a sizeof 16 bytes to store the ACD state information 411 containing stateinformation regarding the 64 blocks included in the ACA 213 shown inFIG. 6A. To indicate that the ACD blocks #1 and #2 have the valid ACD,bits “11” are recorded as state information in positions b127 and b126,and bits “11” are recorded as state information in positions b125 andb124. To indicate that the other 62 blocks have not been used and areavailable for ACD recording, “0” is recorded in each of positions b123through b0 so that state information regarding each of the 62 blocks isexpressed by bits “00”.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate changes in the ACD state information 411recorded in the TDDS 410 according to the ACD updated and occurrence ofa defective block. FIG. 7A illustrates an example of states of the ACDblocks in the ACA 213 shown in FIG. 2. In a case where an update of theACD recorded in the ACD block #1 shown in FIG. 6A is requested, if adefect is detected while updated ACD is recorded in a subsequentavailable block, (i.e., an ACD block #3), in response to the updaterequest or if a defect is detected through verification after theupdated ACD is recorded, the updated ACD is recorded in an ACD block #4.As a result, the ACD block #1 has invalid ACD, the ACD block #3 isdefective, and the ACD block #4 has valid ACD. The other 60 blocks inthe ACA 213 remain unrecorded and available.

FIG. 7B illustrates an example of the ACD state information 411 includedin the TDDS 410 in accordance with the states of the ACD blocks shown inFIG. 7A. Referring to FIG. 7B, since the ACD recorded in the ACD block#1 in the ACA 213 is not valid any more due to the update of the ACD,bits at the positions b127 and b126 in the TDDS 410 are changed into“01”. Since there is no change in the ACD block #2, state informationregarding the ACD block #2 remains. Since the ACD block #3 has beendetected as being defective during writing or as a result ofverification after writing, bits at positions b123 and b122 are changedinto “01”. Since the update, valid ACD has been recorded in the ACDblock #4, bits at positions b121 and b120 are changed into “11”.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate changes in the ACD state information 411recorded in the TDDS 410 according to an error occurring while an ACDblock is reproduced. FIG. 8A illustrates an example of states of the ACDblocks in the ACA 213 shown in FIG. 2. A write-once informationrecording medium having a state of the ACA 213 shown in FIG. 7A may beloaded into a drive system, and an error occurring while the valid ACDrespectively recorded in the ACD blocks # 2 and 4 in the ACA 213 arereproduced based on the ACD state information 411 included in the TDDS410 shown in FIG. 7B may not be corrected during the reproduction. SinceFIG. 8A illustrates states of the blocks until an error occurs while theACD recorded in the ACD block #2 is reproduced, the state of the ACA 213shown in FIG. 8A is the same as that shown in FIG. 7A.

FIG. 8B illustrates an example of the ACD state information 411 includedin the TDDS 410 in accordance with the states of the ACD blocks shown inFIG. 8A. Referring to FIG. 8B, to indicate that the ACD recorded in theACD block #2 in the ACA 213 on a disc is still valid even though itcould not been reproduced, bits at the positions b125 and b124corresponding to the ACD block #2 in the TDDS 410 are changed into “10”,so that the valid ACD recorded in the ACD block #2 can be reproduced bya drive system with higher performance than a current drive system thatcannot reproduce the valid ACD recorded in the ACD block #2. If thedrive system with the higher performance can reproduce the valid ACDrecorded in the ACD block #2, the valid ACD may be moved to anothernormal block. In this situation, when the disc is loaded into anotherdrive system afterwards, the valid ACD moved from the ACD block #2 tothe normal block is reproduced from the normal block not from the ACDblock #2, thereby providing convenient use of the disc.

In particular, since a final TDDS is recorded as a DDS in a DMA on awrite-once disc during finalization preserving a final state of thedisc, a change in a recording state of the disc due to an illegal changeor addition of data in the ACA 213 on the disc can be detected bycomparing ACD state information included in the DDS with an actual stateof the ACA 213. This is possible because after the finalization of thedisc, ACD state information in the TDDS 410 reflects a final state ofthe ACA 213 and is copied to the DDS included in the DMA on the disc.

FIG. 9 illustrates a structure of a rewritable recording medium (i.e., arewritable disc), 900 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. Referring to FIG. 9, the rewritable disc 900 sequentiallyincludes a lead-in area 910, a data area 920, and a lead-out area 930.The lead-in area 910 includes a pre-recorded area 911 in whichpredetermined data is recorded when the disc 900 is manufactured, a testarea 912, an ACA 913, a DMA #2 914, and a DMA #1 915. The data area 920includes a UDA 922 in which user data is recorded and a spare area #0921 and a spare area #1 923 which are assigned to record data recordedin defective blocks in the UDA 922. The lead-out area 930 includes a DMA#3 931 and a DMA #4 932.

The rewritable disc 900 shown in FIG. 9 has substantially the samestructure as the write-once disc 200 shown in FIG. 2, with the exceptionthat the rewritable disc 900 has only a DMA for defect managementwithout a TDMA for temporary defect management since data can berewritten to the rewritable disc 900. A DDS for defect management anddisc management and a DFL for defect information are recorded in the DMAon the rewritable disc 900. For example, the DMA #1 915 includes a DDS1110 and a DFL 1120.

FIG. 10A illustrates a first example of the ACA 913 shown in FIG. 9.Referring to FIG. 10A, the ACA 913 includes an ACD #1 1010, an ACD #21020, and an ACD #3 1030. The ACD #1 1010 includes common information1011 and specific information 1012. The common information 1011 includesan ACD_ID 1013, i.e., an ID identifying ACD, formatability information1014 indicating whether the disc can be formatted, spare arearecordability/reproducibility information 1015 indicating whether aspare area is recordable or is only reproducible, and UDArecordability/reproducibility information 1016 indicating whether a UDAis recordable or is only reproducible.

The ACD #2 1020 also includes common information 1021 and specificinformation 1022. The common information 1021 includes an ACD_ID 1023and common information table containing formatability information 1024,spare area recordability/reproducibility information 1025, and UDArecordability/reproducibility information 1026.

FIG. 10B illustrates an example of the ACA 913 shown in FIG. 9. Thesecond example shown in FIG. 10B is the same as the example shown inFIG. 10A, with the exception that the common information 1011 includesDMA recordability information 1017 and data arearecordability/reproducibility information 1018 and the commoninformation 1021 shown in FIG. 10B includes DMA recordabilityinformation 1027 and data area recordability/reproducibility information1028.

In particular, unlike the example shown in FIG. 10A, the DMArecordability information 1017, 1027 is included in the commoninformation 1011, 1012 in the second example. However, the DMArecordability information 1017, 1027 does not include informationregarding a DDS included in a DMA to always enable ACD state informationto be recorded in the DDS even when the DMA recordability information1017, 1027 is set to prohibit writing to the DMA. That is, the DDSshould be always recordable on a rewritable recording medium.

While not required in all aspects, the structure of the ACA in theabove-described embodiments is the same for a write-once informationrecording medium and a rewritable recording medium. When an ACD block isdetected as defective during writing to an ACA or as a result ofverification after writing, the ACD is recorded in a subsequentavailable block in the ACA. During reinitialization of a disc, a drivesystem clears the ACD by recording a predetermined value, e.g., “00h” or“FFh”, in whole space in existing ACD blocks in which the ACD has beenrecorded on the disc. In addition, during initialization orreinitialization, the drive system records ACD regarding a functionknown to the drive system in the ACA and fills the rest of the ACAremaining unrecorded with a predetermined value, e.g., “00h” or “FFh”.

FIG. 11 illustrates a detailed structure of the DMA #1 915 provided withan area in which ACD state information 1111 is recorded, according toanother embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 11, theDMA #1 915 includes the DDS 1110 and the DFL 1120. The DFL 1120 is anarea in which information regarding a defect occurring in the UDA 222(e.g., an address of a defective block and an address of a blockreplacing the defective block), are recorded for defect management. TheDDS 1110 is an area in which disc management information is recorded fordisc management. In particular, ACD state information 1111 is recordedin the DDS 1110 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The ACD state information 1111 contains a state of every ACD block inthe ACA 913. Referring to FIG. 11, two bits are assigned for stateinformation regarding a single ACD block. Thus, to record stateinformation regarding 64 blocks defined in the ACA, 64*2=128 bits areassigned to the ACD state information 1111. Accordingly, 16 bytes B0, .. . , B14, B15 are assigned for state information regarding every ACDblock in the ACA.

States of ACD blocks on a rewritable recording medium may be expressedin four types as shown in FIG. 5. However, detailed content of the fourstates may be different. As shown in FIG. 5, a state of each ACD blockon the rewritable recording medium is expressed with 2 bits, i.e., “00”,“01”, “10”, or “11” indicating one among the four states. Bits “00”indicate that an ACD block is available for recording ACD. Bits “01”indicate that the ACD block is defective. More specifically, bits “01”indicate that the ACD block is detected as defective while ACD isrecorded in the ACA or that the ACD block is a defective block havinginvalid ACD. Bits “10” indicate that the ACD block has valid ACD but isdetected as defective while ACD is reproduced from the ACA. Bits “11”indicate that the ACD block has valid ACD.

When using a rewritable disc, when the ACD recorded at an ACD block inan ACA on the disc is no longer valid, the ACD block is overwritten witha predetermined value (e.g., “00h” or “FFh”) and state information(i.e., bits indicating a state of the ACD block) are changed into “00”indicating that the ACD block is available. Here, the ACD block isoverwritten with “00h” or “FFh” to prevent the invalid ACD from beingreproduced from the ACD block when the state information of the ACDblock cannot be read. In other words, to more reliably prevent invalidACD from being reproduced, an ACD block having the invalid ACD isoverwritten with a predetermined value, such as “00h” or “FFh”.

During the use of the rewritable disc, when an update of ACD recorded inan ACD block is requested, state information of the ACD block having oldACD is changed into “01” in a DDS on the rewritable disc to indicatethat the ACD block has invalid ACD, and updated ACD is recorded in asubsequent available block in an ACA on the rewritable disc.

Examples of recording state information regarding ACD blocks will bedescribed in detail below with reference to FIGS. 12A through 14B. FIG.12A illustrates an example of states of ACD blocks in the ACA 913 shownin FIG. 9. Referring to FIG. 12A, the ACA 913 includes 64 blocksincludes two ACD blocks #1 and #2 having valid ACD and the other 62blocks that have no data recorded therein and are available forrecording.

FIG. 12B illustrates an example of the ACD state information 1111included in the DDS 1110 in accordance with the states of the ACD blocksshown in FIG. 12A. Referring to FIG. 12B, the DDS 1110 includes an areawith a size of 16 bytes to store the ACD state information 1111containing state information regarding the 64 blocks included in the ACA913 shown in FIG. 12A. To indicate that the ACD blocks #1 and #2 havethe valid ACD, bits “11” are recorded as state information in positionsb127 and b126, and bits “11” are recorded as state information inpositions b125 and b124. To indicate that the other 62 blocks have notbeen used and are available for ACD recording, “0” is recorded in eachof positions b123 through b0 so that state information regarding each ofthe 62 blocks is expressed by bits “00”.

FIGS. 13A and 13B illustrate changes in the ACD state information 1111recorded in the DDS 1110 according to ACD updated and occurrence of adefective block. FIG. 13A illustrates an example of states of the ACDblocks in the ACA 913 shown in FIG. 12A. Referring to FIG. 13A, the ACDblock #1 in the ACA 913 shown in FIG. 12A is overwritten with “00h”since the ACD recorded in the ACD block #1 is not necessary any more. Inaddition, a defect is detected while ACD regarding a new function iswritten to an ACD block #3 in response to a request or as a result ofverification after the writing, and thus the ACD regarding the newfunction is recorded in a subsequent block, i.e., an ACD block #4. Inother words, in the ACA 913, the ACD block #1 is filled with “00h”, theACD block #2 has valid ACD, the ACD block #3 is a defective block, andthe ACD block #4 has valid ACD, and the remaining 60 blocks areunrecorded and available.

FIG. 13B illustrates an example of the ACD state information 1111included in the DDS 1110 in accordance with the states of the ACD blocksshown in FIG. 13A. Referring to FIG. 13B, since the ACD block #1 in theACA 913 has been overwritten with “00h”, bits indicating stateinformation regarding the ACD block #1, at the positions b127 and b126in the DDS 1110 are changed into “00” to allow the ACD block #1 to beused. Since the ACD block #2 is not changed, bits “11” indicating stateinformation regarding the ACD block #2 remain. The ACD block #3 has beendetected as defective during recording or as a result of verificationafter writing, bits indicating state information regarding the ACD block#3 at positions b123 and b122 in the DDS 1110 are changed into “01”.Since the ACD block #4 has the valid ACD regarding the new function,bits indicating state information regarding the ACD block #4 atpositions b121 and b120 are changed into “11”.

FIGS. 14A and 14B illustrate a change in the ACD state information 1111recorded in the DDS 1110 according to an error occurring while an ACDblock is reproduced. FIG. 14A illustrates an example of states of theACD blocks in the ACA 913 shown in FIG. 9. A rewritable recording mediumhaving a state of the ACA 913 shown in FIG. 13A may be loaded into adrive system, and an error occurring while the valid ACD respectivelyrecorded in the ACD blocks # 2 and 4 in the ACA 913 are reproduced basedon the ACD state information 1111 included in the DDS 1110 shown in FIG.13B may not be corrected during the reproduction. Since FIG. 14Aillustrates states of the blocks until the error occurs while the ACDrecorded in the ACD block #2 is reproduced, the state of the ACA 913shown in FIG. 14A is the same as that shown in FIG. 13A.

FIG. 14B illustrates an example of the ACD state information 1111included in the DDS 1110 in accordance with the states of the ACD blocksshown in FIG. 14A. Referring to FIG. 14B, to indicate that the ACDrecorded in the ACD block #2 in the ACA 913 on the disc is still valideven though it could not been reproduced, bits at the positions b125 andb124 corresponding to the ACD block #2 in the DDS 1110 are changed into“10”, so that the valid ACD recorded in the ACD block #2 can bereproduced by a drive system with higher performance than a currentdrive system that cannot reproduce the valid ACD recorded in the ACDblock #2. If the drive system with the higher performance can reproducethe valid ACD recorded in the ACD block #2, the valid ACD may be movedto another normal block. In this situation, when the disc is loaded intoanother drive system afterwards, the valid ACD moved from the ACD block#2 to the normal block is reproduced from the normal block not from theACD block #2, thereby providing convenient use of the disc.

FIG. 15 is a schematic block diagram of a recording/reproducingapparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referringto FIG. 15, the recording/reproducing apparatus includes awriting/reading unit 2 and a control unit 1.

The writing/reading unit 2 includes a pickup and writes data to andreads data from the disc 100 that is an optical recording medium of thepresent invention. Here, the disc 100 may be a write-once informationrecording medium, i.e., the disc 200, or a rewritable recording medium,i.e., the disc 900.

The control unit 1 controls the writing/reading unit 2 to write data toand read data from the disc 100 according to a predetermined filesystem. More particularly, the control unit 1 assigns an ACD stateinformation area in a DMA included in a lead-in area on the disc 100 tomanage a state of each ACD block at which ACD is recorded in an ACAincluded in the lead-in area, and also performs control to record andmanage state information regarding each ACD block in the ACD stateinformation area. The control unit 1 includes a system controller 10, ahost interface (I/F) 20, a digital signal processor (DSP) 30, a radiofrequency (RF) amplifier (AMP) 40, and a servo 50.

During recording, the host I/F 20 receives a predetermined write commandfrom a host 3 and transmits the command to the system controller 10. Thesystem controller 10 controls the DSP 30 and the servo 50 to execute thewrite command received from the host I/F 20. The DSP 30 adds additionaldata, such as a parity, to data received from the host I/F 20 to bewritten, performs error correction coding (ECC) to generate an ECC blockfor error correction, and modulates the ECC block in a predeterminedmode. The RF AMP 40 converts data output from the DSP 30 into an RFsignal. The writing/reading unit 2 including the pickup writes the RFsignal received from the RF AMP 40 to the disc 100. The servo 50receives a servo control command from the system controller 10 andperforms servo control on the pickup included in the writing/readingunit 2.

During reproduction, the host I/F 20 receives a read command from thehost 3. The system controller 10 performs initialization needed forreproduction. The writing/reading unit 2 radiates a laser beam on thedisc 100 and outputs an optical signal obtained from the laser beamreflected from the disc 100. The RF AMP 40 converts the optical signalreceived from the writing/reading unit 2 into an RF signal, providesmodulated data obtained from the RF signal to the DSP 30, and provides aservo signal obtained from the RF signal to the servo 50. The DSP 30demodulates the modulated data and outputs data obtained by performingECC on the demodulated data. Meanwhile, the servo 50 receives the servosignal from the RF AMP 40 and the servo control command from the systemcontroller 10 and performs servo control on the pickup. The host I/F 20transmits the data from the DSP 30 to the host 3. The system controller10 reads disc management information or defect information from the disc100 and controls the servo 50 to read data from a position where datahas been recorded with no defects on the disc 100. According to aspectsof the invention, the recording/reproducing apparatus illustrated inFIG. 15 may be implemented by an individual recording apparatus and anindividual reproducing apparatus or by a single recording andreproducing apparatus, and can be implemented as a stand alone apparatusor as part of a computer system.

Operations of the recording/reproducing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 15recording and updating ACD state information will be described withreference to FIGS. 16 and 17 below. FIG. 16 is a flowchart of a methodof recording ACD state information according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. In operation 1601, during initialization orreinitialization of the write-once disc 200, the system controller 10performs control to record ACD regarding a predetermined function at anACD block in the ACA 213 included in the lead-in area 210 on the disc200. In operation 1602, the system controller 10 detects during thewriting of the ACD or through verification after the writing whether adefect is present in the ACD block. If the defect is present in the ACDblock, in operation 1603, the system controller 10 performs control tonewly record the ACD in an available block subsequent to the ACD block.In operation 1604, the system controller 10 performs a control operationto record bits “01” in the TDDS 410 as state information regarding theACD block having the defect. In operation 1605, the system controller 10performs a control operation to record bits “11” in the TDDS 410 asstate information regarding the subsequent ACD block in which the ACD isnewly recorded. In operation 1607, the system controller 10 performs acontrol operation to record bits “00” in the TDDS 410 as stateinformation regarding every block at which ACD is not recorded in theACA 213.

If it is detected that no defect is present in the ACD block inoperation 1602, in operation 1606, the system controller 10 performs acontrol operation to record bits “11” in the TDDS 410 as stateinformation regarding the ACD block and performs operation 1607.

Although it has been described with reference to FIG. 16 that theoperations of recording ACD and recording state information regardingthe recording of the ACD are performed during initialization orreinitialization of a disc, these operations are not restricted to theinitialization and reinitialization but may be performed to updated ACDor record new ACD even during use of the disc. In addition, the methodillustrated in FIG. 16 is also applied to a rewritable recording mediumin the same manner, with the exception that state information regardingan ACD block is generally recorded in a DDS instead of a TDDS accordingto an aspect of the invention.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of a method of recording ACD state informationwhen an ACD block is updated according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. In operation 1701, the system controller 10 receives acommand to update particular ACD recorded at an ACD block in an ACA on awrite-once disc. Then, in operation 1702, the system controller 10performs a control operation to change state information regarding theACD block into bits “01” in a TDDS on the disc to indicate that the ACDblock does not have valid ACD.

In operation 1703, the system controller 10 performs a control operationto record updated ACD having the same ID as the particular ACD at asubsequent available block in the ACA on the disc. In operation 1704,the system controller 10 performs a control operation to record bits“11” in the TDDS as state information regarding the subsequent block atwhich the updated ACD has been recorded.

While not required in all aspects, aspects of the invention can also beembodied as computer readable codes on one or more computer readablerecording medium. The computer readable recording medium is any datastorage device that can store data which can be thereafter read by acomputer system. Examples of the computer readable recording mediuminclude read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), CD-ROMs,magnetic tapes, floppy disks, optical data storage devices, and carrierwaves (such as data transmission through the Internet). The computerreadable recording medium can also be distributed over network coupledcomputer systems so that the computer readable code is stored andexecuted in a distributed fashion. Also, functional programs, codes, andcode segments for accomplishing the present invention can be easilyconstrued by programmers skilled in the art to which the presentinvention pertains.

According to the present invention, common information regarding discaccess control, which is recognizable by all standards of a drivesystem, is recorded on a disc so that even a drive system that cannotrecognize a function of the disc can properly operate based on thecommon information, thereby providing compatibility between the disc andthe drive system. In addition, the common information can be efficientlymanaged.

While this invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilledin the art that various changes in form and details may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as definedby the appended claims. The embodiments should be considered indescriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. Therefore,the scope of the invention is defined not by the detailed description ofthe invention but by the appended claims and equivalents thereof, andall differences within the scope will be construed as being included inthe present invention.

1. A recording/reproducing method comprising: writing access controldata (ACD) to an access control area provided on an informationrecording medium, the ACD having common information for a correspondingpredetermined function recognized by a compliant type of recordingand/or reproducing apparatus and which is set to allow a non-complianttype of the recording/reproducing apparatus that cannot recognize apredetermined function of the information recording medium to controlaccess to the information recording medium, recording state informationregarding one of defectiveness and recordability of an ACD block, atwhich the ACD is recorded in the access control area, in a temporarydisc definition structure (TDDS) included in a temporary defectmanagement area (TDMA) provided on the information recording medium. 2.The recording/reproducing method of claim 1, wherein the ACD comprisesat least one or more among an ACD_ID indicating an ID of thepredetermined function, formatability information indicating anddistinguishing between whether the information recording medium isformatable or is not formatable, TDMA recordability informationindicating and distinguishing between whether the TDMA except for theTDDS is recordable or is not recordable, data arearecordability/reproducibility information indicating and distinguishingbetween whether a data area provided on the information recording mediumis recordable/reproducible or is not recordable/reproducible, orcombinations thereof.
 3. The recording/reproducing method of claim 2,wherein, when the TDMA is assigned in the data area, the data arearecordability/reproducibility information does not includerecordability/reproducibility information indicating whether the TDMAassigned in the data area is recordable/reproducible.
 4. Arecording/reproducing method comprising: reading access control data(ACD) from an access control area provided on an information recordingmedium, the ACD having common information for a correspondingpredetermined function recognized by a compliant type of recordingand/or reproducing apparatus and which is set to allow a non-complianttype of the recording/reproducing apparatus that cannot recognize apredetermined function of the information recording medium to controlaccess to the information recording medium, reading state informationregarding one of defectiveness and recordability of an ACD block, atwhich the ACD is recorded in the access control area, from a temporarydisc definition structure (TDDS) included in a temporary defectmanagement area (TDMA) provided on the information recording medium. 5.The recording/reproducing method of claim 4, wherein the ACD comprisesat least one or more among an ACD_ID indicating an ID of thepredetermined function, formatability information indicating anddistinguishing between whether the information recording medium isformatable or is not formatable, TDMA recordability informationindicating and distinguishing between whether the TDMA except for theTDDS is recordable or is not recordable, data arearecordability/reproducibility information indicating and distinguishingbetween whether a data area provided on the information recording mediumis recordable/reproducible or is not recordable/reproducible, orcombinations thereof.
 6. The recording/reproducing method of claim 5,wherein, when the TDMA is assigned in the data area, the data arearecordability/reproducibility information does not includerecordability/reproducibility information indicating whether the TDMAassigned in the data area is recordable/reproducible.